The Book of Nomo - Chapter 3 - Los Angeles

TOKYO — Such was his reputation as an ingrate, traitor, defector and all-around bad boy worthy of no one’s respect, that when Nomo left Narita Airport to meet with the Los Angeles Dodgers, only a handful of photographers and reporters were at the airport to record his departure. Good riddance, was the attitude of the general public. And don’t come back.

But that all began to change, starting with the day the Dodgers offered Nomo a contract primarily on the basis of a two-minute video Nomura had given them. It was a one-year pact that called for a minimum big league salary of $109,000 (a huge decrease from his last Buffaloes contract), but it also gave Nomo a huge signing bonus of $2 million, which was an indication of how highly L.A. thought of him.

That was cache and from then on a mob of press from Japan followed Nomo everywhere he went. Nomo pointedly ignored them. At one point in spring training, he drew a line in the sand in front of the Dodger dugout and ordered everyone in the press contingent not to cross it. They kept their distance, but also refused to go away.